On Tuesday, August 2nd, the Ella Baker Center is hosting Night Out for Safety and Liberation (NOSL) in Oakland where we will build community and share what makes us feel safe in our neighborhoods. NOSL is a national event where people across the country will redefine and reimagine what public safety really means for our communities.

Join us on 8/2 and share what you need to feel safe.

Bring your picnic blanekts to our free event at Lowell Park in West Oakland; we will have music, an art build, healing practitioners, family activities, and dance and spoken word performances. Childcare and food will also be provided.

RSVP on Facebook.
NIGHT OUT FOR SAFETY AND LIBERATION
Turn up with us in West Oakland, home of the Black Panthers, to celebrate their 50th anniversary as we host our 4rd annual Night Out for Safety and Liberation on Tuesday, August 2nd—a national event where we redefine what safety means to us to start a different conversation about public safety beyond policing; focusing on how we can build equity, power, and opportunity in our communities!

There will be an art build, free food, healers, music, games, an open mic, and family activities. All are welcome and all are invited.

Let’s continue to build a narrative that defines safety not in terms of fear, crime, and punishment, but rather as a community that has access to affordable healthcare, housing, food, education, safe and working infrastructure, and more.

Join us for this visually rich documentary, “Over Troubled Waters,” the story of the battle being fought by the people of the Delta to protect the region they love and to encourage saner water policies for the Golden State and all the people of California.
The evening will feature the controversial Delta Tunnels project. Our panel will include representatives from Restore the Delta and Sierra Club and Dr. Patty Oikawa, a UC Berkeley researcher investigating the climate benefits of Delta wetlands restoration. They are working furiously to save the Delta from the Tunnel project, which will seriously undermine this essential treasure.
This event sponsored by: Transition Berkeley, Social Justice Committee (Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists), and the Water Working Group (Berkeley Climate Action Coalition)

The Soil Not Oil Coalition is pleased to announce the 2nd edition of the historic gathering where the Ecology Center will be a co-sponsor. As you may know, inspired in the book “Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis” by Dr. Vandana Shiva, in 2015 we organized the first Soil Not Oil International Conference that was a very successful event with over 100 speakers and more than 1,000 attendees.

The Problem & Soil-ution
Deforestation, erosion and industrial agriculture cause the decay of soils and in consequence the release of carbon and other GHGs into the atmosphere. While the fight to stop fossil fuel extraction and consumption is essential, it is only half of the equation required if we are serious about mitigating climate change. Non‐sustainable management of soils through industrial agriculture causes over 30% of planetary carbon emissions, with 1/3 of the total global warming effects of industrialized nations attributed to an unsustainable food production system.

Scientists such Vandana Shiva, Rattan Lal, Richard Heinberg, Miguel Altieri, among others, teach us that we can mitigate climate change by returning carbon back into the soils. The impact of the 2015 Soil Not Oil Conference was tremendous, as we now see that dozens of participating organizations are including in their speech the issue of soil as a main problem and potential solution. Soils have entered in the international conversation about climate change from Richmond, California to the COP 21 in Paris, France – but the implementation of soil-utions must come from the bottom up!

What can you expect?
During the 2016 Soil Not Oil Conference we will host presentations by grassroots organizers, farmers and renowned scientists. There will be plenaries and workshops during the two day conference as well as a gala and a multicultural celebration – Join us! Get the facts and the tools to fix the broken ecosystems – We are expecting a larger gathering because this year we are partnering with national and international organizations.

The Soil Not Oil Coalition is pleased to announce that, this year’s keynote speaker will be attorney, author and renowned activist: Andrew Kimbrell, Founder/Executive Director of Center for Food Safety.

Join scientists, farmers, environmental activists, elected officials, grassroots organizers, food justice advocates and community members from all backgrounds. Join plenaries/workshops/networking sessions on: Agro-Ecology, Biodiversity, Climate Justice, Carbon Farming, Food Sovereignty, Legislation, Life Cycles, Ocean Health, Public Health, Regenerative Agriculture, Rights of Mother Earth, Seed Freedom, Clean Energy, Community Organizing and more.  Watch Promo Video

Before you purchase a ticket please take into consideration that we are doing our best to make this conference as affordable and inclusive as possible. The Soil Not Oil coaltion is a grassroots project supported by dozens of organizations and dedicated volunteers.

By purchasing a full price ticket you will help us to provide scholarships for low income people. 

“Being aware is not enough, you must be part of the movement and become the change”

The Communist Party USA (Oakland/Berkeley) invites you to a discussion:

The Empire Strikes Back: Attack on BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China, S. Africa)

Suggested Readings:
Conn Hallinan, ‘A Very Brazilian Coup’

A Very Brazilian Coup

Norman Markowitz, ‘The Asian “Pivot” in Historical Context’
http://www.academia.edu/25555123/The_Asian_Pivot_in_Historical_Context
‘Current Developments in India’
http://mltoday.com/article/2483-current-developments-in-india/90-frontpage-stories

The Peace and Freedom Party presents:

The recent vote for Great Britian to leave the European Union has many folks confused. Even leftists find themselves on different sides. We are inviting speakers to debate different positions.

Please buy food and drink at the pub.

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  On every last Sunday we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over four years! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally . Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
3. Announcements
4. (Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

OTU’s Mission

The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.

Monthly Meetings

The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.

If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.

The Take Back Oakland Coalition (which APTP has initiated) is challenging the tri-county DA’s to prosecute the cops involved in the Bay Area-wide predatory policing scandal of statutory rape, commercial sexual exploitation, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Letters were delivered yesterday to DA’s Nancy O’Malley (Alameda), Mark Peterson (Contra Costa), and George Gascon (San Francisco). The letters demanded a signed agreement by Tuesday am to a specific list of demands around investigating and prosecuting these cops.

We are planning simultaneous actions at 10:30 am to pick up these signed agreements from the DA’s offices. We could use a lot of people, as we need coverage of the three locations.

Here’s the list:
Nancy O’Malley 1225 Fallon St, Oakland
George Gascon 850 Bryant St, SF
Mark Peterson 100 37th St, Richmond

Come out and support the work of Critical Resistance Oakland!

We are excited to talk with you about the work we are doing around the SF and Alameda Jail Fights, Stop Urban Shield, and the Oakland Power Projects, as well as:

-Building alternatives to the cops in Oakland.
-Abolishing solitary confinement in California.
-Helping people on the inside organize for self-determination.
-And slowly chipping away at the prison-industrial complex.

Have a drink with us and learn more about what we do and how you can help us build our vision of abolition.

The space is on the ground floor with no stairs and no steps to the restrooms. We recommend that folks come scent-free to allow accessibility to people with chemical sensitivities, though this is a public bar so we can’t guarantee a scent-free zone. Please call us at 510-444-0484 if you have other accessibility concerns!

Please note that all tabs must be closed by 8pm in order to qualify for the benefit. And be sure to check out upcoming events:

End Police Militarization: Stop Urban Shield Webinar
Thursday, August 4th, 12-1pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/1077578638990092/

Oakland Power Projects Workshop: Know Your Options in Chronic Health
Thursday, August 25th, 6:30-9pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/121405968291882/

Story of the homeless recyclers in Dogtown, an Oakland neighborhood decimated by unemployment and gentrification. A Journey through a landscape of love and loss, devotion and addition, prejudice and poverty within the threat of a recycling center slated for closure.

Free snacks and popcorn.

The Jail Fight continues

Here is a tentative agenda:

• Check in
• Report back on Decarceration Plan working meeting
  • Review commitments and set deadlines
• Discuss new Health care provider and our strategy
  • Meeting with sheriff or Chan to learn more about new contract?
• Media Strategy
  • Video (follow up Leigh and Micky)
• Outreach/organizing
  • Collect stories for decarceration doc
  • Oakland Power Project, Mario Woods Coalition
• Establish facilitator, and location of next weeks meeting

This is Michael Moore’s latest and most hilarious film yet.

Prepare to be liberated and laugh as well at this special free screening of this provocative and subversive comedy/documentary which confronts the most pressing issues facing America today and finds the solutions. Just when we need it most the Academy Award-winning director comes up with his best ever film-so rich we encourage folks to see it again! A truly enjoyable, patriotic and thoughtful film that is not to be missed.

Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Cmte as part of our Conscientious Projector series.

Free to the public. No one turned away.
Wheelchair accessible.

The SF Unitarian-Universalist Center will show films on the environment every Friday this month. .

The next film, Aug 12, “Unacceptable Levels” tells the story of the inadequate federal measures to keep toxics out of our environment. A speaker from the EPA will help make sense of the situation and the new law recently passed.

In “Evolution of Organic,” showing Aug. 19, the story of the organic agriculture movement is told by those who built it – and looks ahead to the next generation of growers.

In “Bill Nye’s Global Meltdown” showing Aug 26, Nye goes to a psychoanalyst’s couch to struggle with his emotions about global warming and what to do about it.